OTHER LECTURES

According to a narration in religious books, Adam –Aleyhisselâm– and Eve were separated from each other after the fall but later met at Arafât and walked together towards the west. Adam –Aleyhisselâm– prayed to Allah that he would give him back the pillar of light that he was worshipping Allah around in paradise. Upon this prayer, the pillar of light appeared and Adam –Aleyhisselâm– worshiped Allah by circumambulating around it.

Prayer, as the most exceptional form of worship, is also the most exceptional form of seeking refuge in Allah. Therefore, when one faces any kind of hardship, trouble, tribulation, suffering, and pain he is supposed to turn to prayer immediately. This is the tradition which the Prophet (pbuh) often put into practice.

One of the most widely observable works of fine art which stand testimony to the influence of Sufism is indeed architecture. Architecture comes into existence through the combination of mathematical, geometrical and spiritual talents human beings have which is then melted in a harmonious pot. In other words, architecture represents intellectual and spiritual abilities of man reflected onto and embodied in material things, like stone and wood.

This special kind of knowledge is purely God-given, a divine endowment, an award. In reference, the Quran uses the expression “knowledge from Our presence”.[2] The term ladunni, meaning “from Us, form Our presence”, comes from that.

The parrot in the cage that has been sited in this story symbolizes the soul that is being held captive both by the body and by the ego. The parrots in India symbolize the friends of Allah who have abandoned this transient world and its pleasures and have been liberated from slavery to this material world.